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True Crime in the Grand Canyon--Story of Bob Spangler
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azbackpackr
Hi Tech Wizardess




Joined: 31 Dec 2005
Posts: 3639
Location: Needles CA

PostPosted: 8/17/2007, 6:34 pm    Post subject: True Crime in the Grand Canyon--Story of Bob Spangler Reply to topic Reply with quote

Some summer reading for me: I'm re-reading an interesting trail guidebook called On Foot in the Grand Canyon, by Sharon Spangler. I bought this book in the early 90's, and always had hoped for a sequel, but that was not to be.

When I read Death in Grand Canyon by Michael Ghiglieri a couple of years ago I finally found out why there was no sequel. Sharon Spangler died, either by being murdered by her husband, Bob Spangler, or by suicide.

The book, On Foot in the Grand Canyon, is out of print now, but if you are determined you can probably find it somewhere. It is a delightful book, very personal, and also has lots of historical notes about each trail.

And a fairly complete account of Bob Spangler's many murders (three of his wives, two of his kids, his dad) is to be found here:

http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/weird/robert_spangler/1_index.html

Also of course you can read about it in Ghiglieri's book. I have been to the place where (I think) Bob Spangler pushed wife #3 off of the trail between Horseshoe Mesa and Miner's Spring. Sharon Spanger, the author of the trail guidebook, was wife #2, didn't die in the Canyon.

Pretty gruesome, but for some reason I'm sometimes interested in true crime stories, a la Ann Rule and Vincent Bugliosi.
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Abe





Joined: 11 Jul 2004
Posts: 436
Location: Prescott Valley

PostPosted: 8/17/2007, 7:14 pm    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

Ah....geez and right after I made my comments on "the heebee geebees" solo hiking.
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IGO





Joined: 08 Feb 2005
Posts: 4144
Location: Las Vegas

PostPosted: 8/17/2007, 7:15 pm    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

I read Sharon Spanglers book a long time ago. I have the second ed of the 1986 book in hand. It was a delight. Harvey Butchart wrote the foward.
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"Surely all God's people, however serious or savage, great or small, like to play. Whales and elephants, dancing, humming gnats, and invisibly small mischievous microbes - all are warm with divine radium and must have lots of fun in them." John Muir
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azbackpackr
Hi Tech Wizardess




Joined: 31 Dec 2005
Posts: 3639
Location: Needles CA

PostPosted: 8/18/2007, 4:26 am    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

Here it is, at Amazon, with used copies starting at $1.50. Plus, in customer reviews there is a review by someone who knew Bob and Sharon Spangler.

http://www.amazon.com/Foot-Grand-Canyon-Hiking-Trails/dp/0871087901/ref=sr_1_1/105-6014788-6964436?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1187436270&sr=1-1
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maryphyl
Grand Canyon Enchantress




Joined: 04 Jan 2003
Posts: 669
Location: Flagstaff

PostPosted: 8/18/2007, 12:58 pm    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

I thought Sharon Spangler was a twit--not a person to imitate when hiking. mp
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azbackpackr
Hi Tech Wizardess




Joined: 31 Dec 2005
Posts: 3639
Location: Needles CA

PostPosted: 8/19/2007, 9:00 am    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

To speak ill of the dead reflects poorly on you, Maryphyl. I may be an arrogant b.... myself but I certainly hope that after I die no one is calling me names on a public forum. It's rude and it's bad karma.
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maryphyl
Grand Canyon Enchantress




Joined: 04 Jan 2003
Posts: 669
Location: Flagstaff

PostPosted: 8/19/2007, 9:04 am    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

No apologies here. Have you read her book? mp
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azbackpackr
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Joined: 31 Dec 2005
Posts: 3639
Location: Needles CA

PostPosted: 8/19/2007, 9:22 am    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

Yes, as I mentioned. It's sort of a beginner's book. But the Canyon history is neat, (although it's available in many other publications) and her adventures and mis-adventures are interesting. As a guidebook it is not the one I would turn to for information, true. It is more of a personal quest sort of book. And later on, learning how incredibly mentally ill she was, and what poor choices she made in life partners and husbands, and the very real possibility that she was murdered by Bob Spangler (never proven, of course) lends to the reading of it a sort of sadness. So, Sharon never succeeded whatsoever in her life quest for some semblance of happiness, but perhaps at one point in her life she found a little happiness while hiking in the Canyon. It's sad.

I'm currently writing a guidebook myself. It's an incredible amount of work, and will probably take me another couple of years. It won't be a personalized one, such as On Foot in the Grand Canyon, but just the usual type of hiking guidebook.
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IGO





Joined: 08 Feb 2005
Posts: 4144
Location: Las Vegas

PostPosted: 8/19/2007, 11:44 am    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

I wrote a book in 1991 that was just inches away from being published by the Grand Canyon Historical Society. We went back and forth on many occasions for many months. It took a year of deliberation but in the end they decided it had a couple of discussions and some particular life foreinstances that may not belong, in their opinion, in a book that all types of people and any family members might read. The book was called "Gearing Up for Hiking Down" and was basically how to do longer walks in desert canyons.
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azbackpackr
Hi Tech Wizardess




Joined: 31 Dec 2005
Posts: 3639
Location: Needles CA

PostPosted: 8/19/2007, 8:25 pm    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

Wow, that's neat you wrote a book! Too bad about the publisher. Did you think of shopping the book to other publishers? Might not be too late to go over your manuscript again, maybe a little re-writing if necessary, and re-submit to some other editors.

My book isn't going to be about the Grand Canyon--I'm no expert on the Canyon. That's as much as I'm going to say about my book.
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pfredricks





Joined: 10 Apr 2003
Posts: 347
Location: Peoria, AZ

PostPosted: 8/19/2007, 8:50 pm    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

azbackpackr wrote:
To speak ill of the dead reflects poorly on you, Maryphyl. I may be an arrogant b.... myself but I certainly hope that after I die no one is calling me names on a public forum. It's rude and it's bad karma.




To chastize someone else for believing differently than you strikes a less than pleasant chord for me. Much more so than anything MP may have said. It was her opinion and good for her for standing by it.

I wish that I didn't have to read the personal attack stuff here....it is ugly and unpleasant to say the least.

Besides, Karma will judge for itself, I'm sure!

IGO Shame about your book not being published, sounds like a great one!
Would've liked to have read it!
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IGO





Joined: 08 Feb 2005
Posts: 4144
Location: Las Vegas

PostPosted: 8/20/2007, 5:26 am    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

It was long ago and written by a different IGO. Not a big thing. Anyway, I think they were mostly absorbed by anyother Grand Canyon association anyway.
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"Surely all God's people, however serious or savage, great or small, like to play. Whales and elephants, dancing, humming gnats, and invisibly small mischievous microbes - all are warm with divine radium and must have lots of fun in them." John Muir
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PageRob





Joined: 03 Mar 2005
Posts: 859
Location: Page, Az.

PostPosted: 8/20/2007, 7:12 am    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

I think that most of America is writing/has written a book. At least talking to friends of mine, it seems that way! You know, IGO, there's lots of self-publishing places here on the web where you could publish, www.lulu.com for one. I had a friend that published his book through them, in fact, and was quite pleased.
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azhiker96





Joined: 05 Jan 2003
Posts: 1419

PostPosted: 8/20/2007, 7:26 am    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

When I was a kid, mom always told us "If you can't say something nice about someone, don't say anything at all." The worst comment about someone we came up with was, " I just can't think of a thing to say about him/her."
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IGO





Joined: 08 Feb 2005
Posts: 4144
Location: Las Vegas

PostPosted: 8/20/2007, 12:52 pm    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

PageRob wrote:
I think that most of America is writing/has written a book. At least talking to friends of mine, it seems that way! You know, IGO, there's lots of self-publishing places here on the web where you could publish, www.lulu.com for one. I had a friend that published his book through them, in fact, and was quite pleased.

Pre-internet, there wasn't nearly as many publications like these. My book was really small and was only meant to be an abreiviated orienteering/survival/comfortable equipment/tread lightly etc etc kind of thing. Today, there are 10,000 ways to find out everything one could possibly want to know about anyplace on the planet....thanks to the internet. There's no real place for my book today. Besides, they still don't want to hear about walking up on strangers while they are bathing or bringing beer in your backpack. Very Happy
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"Surely all God's people, however serious or savage, great or small, like to play. Whales and elephants, dancing, humming gnats, and invisibly small mischievous microbes - all are warm with divine radium and must have lots of fun in them." John Muir
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